It’s been 45 years since the release of Marvin Gaye’s momentous album, What’s Going On, May 21, 1971, on the Motown subsidiary Tamla Records. To mark the occasion, Universal Music Enterprises has released “What’s Going On†a 10†vinyl EP.
The EP contains the original 7†mono single versions of “What’s Going On†and “God Is Love,†as well as two “Motown: Re-imagined†versions of the title track: a “Coffeehouse Mix†and a posthumous duet with Motown signee BJ the Chicago Kid. Premiered on Pitchfork, we have a stream of the duet. The funky track, sounds fresh in a new mix that uses the original instrumental parts and adds only new vocals by BJ. The mix is by John Morales, of M+M Mix Productions fame.
BJ The Chicago Kid quote: “Singing alongside Marvin Gaye is truly a dream come true for me. Uncle Marvin is, and will always be one of the greatest. This collaboration also solidifies why I’m here in a time when it is proving to be more difficult for artists to find outlets for music with live vocals and live instrumentation. Marvin Gaye wasn’t only the standard for R&B, he also made a huge impact on pop music & pop culture. Long live R&B…”
